SciFi-XZBT/telemetry_elements.md

Telemetry Audio Elements

Catalog of the discrete telemetry sounds the application produces. All of them live in TelemetrySynth (js/audio.js, ~line 715) and are synthesized at runtime from Web Audio oscillators, envelopes and filters — there are no samples anywhere in this project.

Telemetry is the "computer chatter" layer: short, non-musical-foreground blips that sit on top of the continuous hull / warp / life-support beds. It is the only audio layer with a density parameter, because it fires as discrete events rather than running continuously.

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Element catalog

Element	Method	Description	Where used
LCARD Single Chirp	synthesizeLCARDSingleChirp(pitch?)	Soft sine touch tone, ~90 ms, gentle 8 ms attack into exponential decay, with a subtle 2% downward pitch glide and a 3.2 kHz lowpass to kill the click. Accepts an optional pitch, which makes it the building block for the other LCARD elements.	TNG auto-scheduler (45%), DS9 (50%), soundboard btn-chirp-single / btn-switch-pop, preset-change confirmation while playing, default fallback for any unmapped soundboard or event id
LCARD Double Chirp	synthesizeLCARDDoubleChirp()	Two single chirps 65 ms apart, second pitch two steps up the LCARD scale (minor third / fourth). The iconic "acknowledged" tone.	TNG auto-scheduler (30%), Wayfarer (60%), soundboard btn-chirp-double, engage/play confirmation for non-Whataverse, non-bioship universes
LCARD Acknowledgment Sequence	synthesizeLCARDSequence()	Three chirps at 75 ms spacing drawn from overlapping windows of the LCARD scale — reads as a short data-accept run rather than a single button press.	TNG auto-scheduler (15%), soundboard btn-chirp-ack
Sensor Sweep	synthesizeSensorSweep()	380 ms sine glide from 1200–2000 Hz, ramping either up ×1.6 or down ×0.65 at random. Longer and more "scanning" than the chirps.	TNG auto-scheduler (10%), Wayfarer (40%), soundboard btn-chirp-sweep, layered under btn-scanner
TOS Computer Warble	synthesizeTOSWarble()	450 ms of detuned triangle + sawtooth (fundamental and its fifth) under a 14–22 Hz vibrato LFO, through a Q=3.5 bandpass at 1.2× the fundamental. Vintage 1960s analog computer voice.	TOS auto-scheduler (60%)
TOS Relay Click	synthesizeTOSRelayClick()	25 ms square wave falling 1400 → 300 Hz. A mechanical solenoid snap, not a tone.	TOS auto-scheduler (40%)
Cardassian Sensor Tone	synthesizeCardassianSensor()	550 ms pair of sines a tritone apart (×1.414) for deliberate metallic dissonance, base 420–620 Hz. Cavernous, alien, unresolved.	DS9 auto-scheduler (50%)
NX Hydraulic Relay	synthesizeNXRelay()	40 ms triangle falling 750 → 120 Hz. Heavier and duller than the TOS click — 22nd-century industrial rather than mid-century electrical.	NX auto-scheduler (50%)
NX Indicator Beep	synthesizeNXIndicatorBeep()	80 ms 950 Hz sine with a flat sustain plateau and a fast tail. Plain and utilitarian; no glide, no scale membership.	NX auto-scheduler (50%)
TNG Door Chime	synthesizeDoorChime()	Two overlapping sines, A5 (880 Hz) then D6 (1174.66 Hz) at +160 ms, each with a long 450–700 ms decay. The "come in" chime.	Soundboard btn-chirp-door only — never fired by the auto-scheduler

The table above is the original five-era Starflight vocabulary. Phase 3 added three more eras — who, bioship, beltworker — but they don't fit this table's shape: each fires a multi-event generator (a whole 0.25–1.4 s phrase of staggered transients per tick) rather than picking one discrete element. They are catalogued in Phase 3 telemetry eras below.

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The auto-scheduler

startAutoTelemetryScheduler() self-reschedules after every sound:

baseDelay = 12000 * (1.05 - density)   // ms
interval  = max(800, baseDelay + random(0..4000))

• density 0 → scheduler does not arm at all (<= 0.01 returns early).
• density 1 → ~0.6 s base + jitter, floored at 800 ms — a busy bridge.
• Mid values land in the 2–12 s range the parameter comment describes.
• Density comes from the active preset's telemetry.density and is also live on the slider-telemetry-density UI control.

Era routing

playRandomTelemetrySound() picks an element by params.era. Each era draws from exactly two or four elements — this is the table to extend when adding an era or a new element.

Era	Elements and weights
tng (also the default)	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Acknowledgment Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
tos	Computer Warble 60% · Relay Click 40%
ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
nx	Hydraulic Relay 50% · Indicator Beep 50%
who (Phase 3)	Dedicated mechanical-telemetry generator — see Phase 3 telemetry eras
bioship (Phase 3)	Dedicated organic-telemetry generator — see Phase 3 telemetry eras
beltworker (Phase 3)	Dedicated jury-rigged-telemetry generator — see Phase 3 telemetry eras

Note the era is a telemetry property, not a universe property: it is set per preset in js/config.js (telemetry.era) and is independent of the universe that governs the visuals. Originally every preset in every universe used one of the five Trek eras, so non-Trek themes played Trek telemetry. Phase 3 gave three universes their own dedicated eras instead (Whataverse → who, Bioships → bioship, and Ceres/Tycho/Rocinante → beltworker) — the remaining universes still borrow Trek telemetry. See Preset → telemetry era reference for the full, corrected per-preset mapping.

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The activity event contract

Every scheduled telemetry sound dispatches a window event after it plays:

window.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('scifi-telemetry-activity', {
  detail: { era, density, firedAt }
}));

js/app.js listens for this and calls triggerObservationActivity('telemetry'), which is what synchronizes observation-mode transient visuals to the audio. The visual side deliberately treats the pulse as abstract activity — no specific beep means a specific thing on screen. The observation activity slider then gates whether a given pulse becomes visible:

responseChance = 0.18 + activity * 0.82

Important: only playRandomTelemetrySound() dispatches the event. Elements triggered directly (soundboard, play/stop, preset change) are silent as far as the visual layer is concerned. If a new element should drive visuals, it must either be reachable through the era router or dispatch the event itself.

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Pitch material

Two fixed scales are the source of all pitched telemetry. Reuse them rather than inventing loose frequencies — they are what makes the layer sound coherent.

• lcardPitches — 12 entries, 880 Hz → 2637 Hz, a pentatonic-flavored set built on perfect fourths and fifths. Used by every LCARD element.
• tosFrequencies — 9 entries, 440 Hz → 2217 Hz, wider and more angular, matching the era's less "designed" sound.

Unpitched elements (relay clicks, sweeps, the Cardassian tone) generate their own frequencies and intentionally sit outside both scales. The three Phase 3 eras below are unpitched entirely — none of them touch lcardPitches or tosFrequencies, on purpose: they are meant to sound like mechanisms, not computers.

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Phase 3 telemetry eras

Added under audio_gaps.md Phase 3 to give three universes a telemetry vocabulary of their own instead of borrowed Trek chirps. Each is a private method (trailing underscore, by convention for the multi-event generators added in this phase) invoked once per scheduler tick from the same playRandomTelemetrySound() switch as the five Trek eras — but where a Trek era picks one discrete element, each Phase 3 era fires a whole phrase of several staggered transients scheduled on absolute ctx time in a single call.

Era	Method (TelemetrySynth)	Universe(s)	Acoustic output
who	synthesizeWhoMechanicalTelemetry_()	Whataverse (all 7 tardix-* presets)	2–5 transients per tick, drawn at random from: dual-filtered toggle snaps (20–45 ms noise pulses through paired bandpass filters), 60–120 Hz spring-lever square clicks collapsing in pitch, and damped sine rotary-selector clunks. No electronic beeps.
bioship	synthesizeBioshipOrganicTelemetry_()	Bioships (all 6 bio-* presets)	2–4 events per phrase: asymmetric 30–90 Hz vascular-surge sine thumps (sometimes with a lub-dub echo beat), high-Q bandpass chitin-snap noise ticks, bandpass-filtered wet bioplasmic fluid pops, and AM-stepped membrane-flutter noise between 300–700 Hz.
beltworker	synthesizeBeltworkerJuryRiggedTelemetry_()	sta-tycho, sta-ceres (Space Stations) and ind-rocinante (Industrial)	3–6 events per volley: jittered square relay pulses with randomized micro-dropouts, contact-bounce double/triple clicks, metallic bandpass ticks, and unstable "dying oscillator" clock pings — plus an occasional late catch-up sub-volley mimicking a station clock that skips then recovers.

These three eras are documented in full, with source-material context, in sound_reference.md under each universe's "Phase 3 additions" section.

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Signal-chain conventions

Every element follows the same shape. Match it when adding one:

1. Bail out early on !ctx || !this.gainNode.
2. Capture const now = ctx.currentTime once and schedule everything relative to it — never use setTimeout for sample-accurate timing (it is used only for the deliberate multi-note spacing in the double chirp and sequence).
3. Build oscillator → per-voice envelope gain → optional filter → this.gainNode.
4. Envelopes start at 0.001, linearRampToValueAtTime up, then exponentialRampToValueAtTime down to ~0.0001. Never ramp exponentially to or from exactly zero.
5. Peak envelope gain stays in the 0.18–0.35 band so no element dominates the bed. Clicks sit at the top of that range because they are so short.
6. Explicitly stop() every node at the end of its life. Nothing here loops.

this.gainNode carries the layer volume and connects to am.compressor, so individual elements should never touch master volume or the destination.

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Related but not telemetry

Short event sounds for non-Starflight universes live in sibling classes and are routed by handleSoundboardTrigger() in js/app.js. Check these before adding a new telemetry element — the sound you want may already exist:

• WhataverseAudioSynth — acoustic screwdriver, fast return, demat switch, telepathic chime, cloister strike.
• ExpandedSciFiAudioSynth — DRADAR ping, HAL chime, Geiger burst, docking clamp, improbability flip, cheerful door, and the various drive effects.
• AlertSynth — red/yellow alert cycles and the warp jump swell. Alerts are a separate layer with its own trigger path, not telemetry. They are not purely user-triggered: in Observation Mode the cinematic director's Hull Breach sequence calls alerts.triggerRedAlert('tng') on its own, roughly 6.5 s before restoring the previous state. It is in the sequence pool for the military, outlaw and industrial universes and fires on a random timer (45–75 s for the first sequence, 90–180 s between later ones). This is the only non-telemetry sound in the app that can start without user action.

Preset changes and play/stop pick between these three families by activeUniverseId — see js/app.js around lines 305–365.

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Adding or reusing an element

Reuse an existing element when the need is generic UI feedback — the Single Chirp and Double Chirp are explicitly the neutral confirm/acknowledge sounds and are already the fallbacks for unmapped ids. Reaching for them costs nothing.

Invent a new element when the sound must carry era or universe identity that no existing element has. In that case:

1. Add the method to TelemetrySynth following the signal-chain conventions.
2. Give it a doc comment naming the era and the physical thing it imitates — every existing element has one.
3. Wire it into the playRandomTelemetrySound() era switch with an explicit probability, or leave it manual-only (like the Door Chime) if it is too characterful to fire unattended.
4. If it is manual-only, add a soundboard case in handleSoundboardTrigger() and a button in index.html.
5. Reuse lcardPitches / tosFrequencies if the element is pitched and belongs to those eras.
6. Keep the duration under ~600 ms. This is an ambient layer; anything longer reads as a foreground event and belongs in AlertSynth instead.

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Preset → telemetry era reference

telemetry.era is assigned per preset, and it is the only thing that decides which elements the auto-scheduler fires. It is not derived from the universe. Originally all 70 presets across all 10 universes used one of the five Star Trek eras, so non-Trek universes played Trek telemetry: a retrofuture profile could chatter in TOS warbles, and a living-ship profile could ring with the Cardassian sensor tone. Phase 3 broke that pattern for three universes — see Phase 3 telemetry eras above — so Whataverse, Bioships, and three beltworker presets (Tycho, Ceres, Rocinante) now have their own vocabulary instead. Everything else below still borrows Trek telemetry; if you hear a sound that seems foreign to the theme you are on, this table is where to look it up.

Era	Elements fired
tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
who	who-era mechanical telemetry (see above)
bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (see above)
beltworker	beltworker-era jury-rigged telemetry (see above)

Starflight Command (10 presets — ds9 ×2 · nx ×1 · tng ×3 · tos ×2 · wayfarer ×2)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
Interprise-G: Main Bridge	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
Interprise-G: Main Engineering	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
Interprise-G: Crew Quarters	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
USS Wayfarer: Bridge	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
USS Wayfarer: Class-N Worp Core	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
USS Defiance: Tactical Bridge	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Deep Space 8: Ops Center	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Interprise NCC-1701.5: Bridge (TOS)	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Interprise NCC-1701.5: Engineering (TOS)	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Interprise NS-01: Command Bridge	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%

The Whataverse (7 presets — who ×7, all Phase 3)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
1962 Classic Console (1st / 2nd Doctors)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
Edwardian Secondary Console (4th Doctor)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
The Coral Living TARDIX (9th / 10th Doctors)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
The Bronze Workshop (11th Doctor)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
The Cool Machine (12th Doctor)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
The Humming Crystal Console (13th Doctor)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)
The Endless White (14th / 15th Doctors)	who	who-era mechanical telemetry (2–5 transients/tick)

Industrial (8 presets — beltworker ×1 · ds9 ×1 · nx ×3 · tos ×3, 1 Phase 3)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
USCSS Nostramo: Ore Refinery Bridge	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Serenety: Firewing-Class Cargo Hold	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Red Dwarve: Main Drive Corridor	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Starbug Z: Cockpit Environment	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
The Rasa: Dark Matter Bridge	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Rocinanta: Combat Ops & Epsilon Drive	beltworker	beltworker-era jury-rigged telemetry (3–6 events/volley)
Hawk Translocator: Command Module	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Valley Foundry: Agro-Dome Forest Hub	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%

Bioships (6 presets — bioship ×6, all Phase 3)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
Meya: Leviathon Central Nexus	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)
Talym: Gunship Neural Bridge	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)
The Lexxi: Primary Organ Bridge	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)
Vorlan Cruiser: Sentient Core	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)
Wraithe Hive Ship: Throne Chamber	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)
Species 8675309: Fluid Bioship	bioship	bioship-era organic telemetry (2–4 events/phrase)

Retrofuture (8 presets — nx ×2 · tng ×2 · tos ×3 · wayfarer ×1)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
Jupiter Duece: Upper Deck Astrogator	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
The Liberation: Zen Flight Bridge	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
USS Cygnis: Victorian Engine Hall	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
USS Palomina: Deep Research Pod	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Discovery Zero: Habitation Centrifuge	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
Dim Star: Bomb Bay & Quarters	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Gunstarr: Tactical Combat Cockpit	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
The Seeker: 25th Century Flagship	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%

Military (7 presets — ds9 ×3 · nx ×1 · tng ×1 · wayfarer ×2)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
USS Solaco: Conestega Hangar Deck	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Battlestar Galactica: Combat Information Center (CIC)	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Pale Star: Minbara/Vorlan Hybrid Bridge	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
EAS Agamemnon II: Omega Destroyer Bridge	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Andromeda Ascending: Command Deck	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
Excaliber: Triumph-Class Heavy Combat Core	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Colonial Adder Mk II: Cockpit Atmosphere	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%

Deep Space (7 presets — ds9 ×2 · nx ×2 · tng ×2 · wayfarer ×1)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
The Avalin: Interstellar Cruise Concourse	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
The Nightflier: Telepathic Corridor	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
USS Ascention: Generation Ship Promenade	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Ark Zero: Evacuation Ark Bridge	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
Icarus I: Solar Shield Core	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
Event Boundary: Gravity Singularity Core	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Lewis & Clarke: Rescue Cutter Bridge	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%

Outlaw (6 presets — ds9 ×1 · nx ×1 · tos ×2 · wayfarer ×2)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
The Betsy: Salvage Freighter Mess	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
BeBoppa: Living Quarters & Hangar	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Outlaw Sun: Grapple Bridge	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
Scorpius: Wanderer Salvage Vessel	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
The Raider: Havoc Shuttle Bridge	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
The Milan: M-Ship Cockpit Lounge	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%

Space Stations (6 presets — beltworker ×2 · ds9 ×1 · nx ×1 · tng ×1 · tos ×1, 2 Phase 3)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
Babylon 4: Core Control & Zocolo	ds9	Cardassian Sensor 50% · Single Chirp 50%
Moonbase Beta: Main Mission Control	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%
Sebastopol Station: Habitation Deck	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Tyco Station: Asteroid Construction Bay	beltworker	beltworker-era jury-rigged telemetry (3–6 events/volley)
Ceres Minor Station: Sub-Crustal Tunnels	beltworker	beltworker-era jury-rigged telemetry (3–6 events/volley)
Gatehouse Station: Quarantine Transfer Deck	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%

Comedy (5 presets — nx ×1 · tng ×2 · tos ×1 · wayfarer ×1)

Preset	Era	Elements heard
USS Norval: Command Bridge	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
NSEA Protractor: Beryllium Orb Engine Room	wayfarer	Double Chirp 60% · Sensor Sweep 40%
Heart of Silver: Unlikelihood Bridge	tng	Single Chirp 45% · Double Chirp 30% · Ack Sequence 15% · Sensor Sweep 10%
HMS Camden Key: Flight Deck & Mess	nx	NX Hydraulic Relay 50% · NX Indicator Beep 50%
Spaceorb One: Mega-Warship Bridge	tos	TOS Computer Warble 60% · TOS Relay Click 40%

Notes on the spread

• Starflight is the only universe where the era always matches the fiction.
• Whataverse and Bioships no longer borrow Trek eras at all as of Phase 3 — every preset in both universes runs its own dedicated era (who, bioship).
• Space Stations and Industrial are mixed: Tycho, Ceres (Space Stations) and Rocinante (Industrial) run the Phase 3 beltworker era; the rest of both universes still borrow Trek eras.
• Retrofuture leans on tos (3 of 8), which is at least era-plausible for mid-century-styled ships, but Discovery One and The Searcher are on full TNG LCARD. Untouched by Phase 3's telemetry-era work.
• Comedy, Outlaw, Deep Space, and Military are entirely Trek-era telemetry, also untouched by Phase 3.

Two consequences worth keeping in mind when editing:

1. Changing a preset's telemetry.era silently changes which sounds it makes. There is no UI anywhere that names the active era, so the change is audible but not visible.
2. Any era value outside the eight above falls through the switch in playRandomTelemetrySound() to the tng default. A typo does not fail loudly — it just produces LCARD chirps.

If a universe should stop borrowing Trek telemetry, the fix is a new era vocabulary (new elements plus a new case in the era router) — exactly what Phase 3 did for who, bioship, and beltworker — not a change to preset assignments alone; the router has nothing else to offer them otherwise.